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Update Summaries:

Sensordrone will initially support Android 2.2 (Froyo) and later with shipments starting this Fall. Bluetooth 2.1 and 4.0 will be supported for Android. iOS support will be available for devices with Bluetooth 4.0, i.e. iPhone 4S & iPad (3rd Generation). Support for iPhone will trail Android by ~2 months.

Update 3: Data Sharing Apps/Pachube Support

Sensordrone is an open platform for all kinds of sensor and bluetooth peripheral device apps. Every app shown in this project will be available for free. Many new apps are under development, like data sharing apps so you can combine sensor data with smartphone capabilities and share on Google+, Facebook, etc. Support will be available for data recording sites like Pachube.

Update 4: Expansion Modules - Connect Anything to Sensordrone

Connect to a printer or another wild idea you have! New rewards include ambient CO2, pH & Dissolved Oxygen expansion modules.

People Sense the Possibilities of Sensordrone!

Engadget - "...slightly Star Trek, with the device connecting across Bluetooth to share a wealth of data on what's going on around you"

Fast Company - "Flash forward a few years and imagine millions of people carrying around tiny but powerful sensing units like these. People will then be able to join networks of individuals who share and/or sell their sensing data."

Geek - "Sensordrone really looks like an incredible gadget, and clearly something that takes us one step closer to having a Tricorder for your mobile device"

Guyism- "They even use the Star Trek font and refer to the Tricorder. NEEEEEEEERDSSSSS!... It’s actually pretty useful, a kind of technological Swiss Army knife."

Mashable - "...Tricorders don't exist quite yet, but the Sensordrone currently on Kickstarter is a step in the right direction"

TechSpot - "...the Sensordrone is a Swiss Army Knife of environmental input"

TreeHugger - "For years, scientists have talked about putting sensors into cell phones to be able to collect environmental data...it's not so easy. At least not until now."

Sensordrone Lets You Run Hundreds of Previously Impossible Sensor Apps

Sensordrone can fit on your keychain, monitor your environment, and talk with your smartphone via Bluetooth. Sensordrone already includes more sensors than anything else available, so you can run hundreds of newapps. Apps that are surprisingly useful in your daily life, fun apps, scientific apps, and more.

Here are just a few examples.

If you have a Sensordrone, you can run apps like these.

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Designed to be Simple

Everything is included in the Sensordrone's sleek & compact metal/plastic housing. No configuration is required. Just run an app, and it works. There are no switches or dials to adjust. You don't have to buy new sensors to do anything shown in the video. Just run an app. Truly a major extension of your mobile device, everything is controlled by the app. Here are just 6 apps that we're already running with our Sensordrones.

If you have a Sensordrone, you'll also be able to run apps like these. In addition, there are plenty more in development, by us and independent developers. More developers are welcome and will be supported.

Sensors to Make Your Life Better

Sensordrone is a sensor computer.

Just like a computer can run many different applications, Sensordrone can run many sensor applications. And, just like the best computers using the best processors, we put the best sensors available into Sensordrone, including our own sensors.

If you have a Sensordrone, you can run apps on your tablet or smartphone to monitor carbon monoxide and air quality, find gas leaks, measure your child's temperature, log the weather, and much more.

For example, appsusing the capacitance sensor can work as a stud finder, a proximity monitor, or a liquid level monitor. Apps using the pressure sensor can work as a barometer, an altimeter, calculate elevation differences so you can measure the height of a building, be hooked up to a pressure cuff to work as a blood pressure monitor, and more. Humidity sensing is not just for weather, it determines comfort level for infants, finds the optimum conditions for storing foods, and could even help prevent mold from growing in your home

Sensordrone makes any sensor application as easy as running an app!

If you've ever wanted a Tricorder like in Star Trek, this is a step in that direction. If you join the Sensor revolution, this is how your smartphone can look soon.

Advanced Sensor Apps

Its only limit is your imagination.

More Than Just Data

The sensors in Sensordrone don't just give you data, they guide you to smart decisions. Sensor apps will teach you, help you, and guide you. You'll be informed enough to demand action. For example, the carbon monoxide sensor will measure carbon monoxide, but combine that with an Air Quality Index guide, and you'll get much more information than just a number.

Carbon Monoxide Air Quality Monitor + Guide

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Connect & Share

The Sensordrone can give you data anywhere you go. Maybe you'll find a gas leak or a polluted area and want to share that information with your colleagues. Maybe you'll use it as a breathalyzer after having too many drinks and it will automatically have your phone call a designated driver. Since the Sensordrone is essentially an extension of your internet connected smartphone or tablet, you can easily share vital data via your preferred web service. This includes Twitter, Facebook, sensor sites like Pachube, and much more.

Share your data!

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3 Modes of Operation:

You'll have full control over the Sensordrone, like LED colors and timing, which sensors are on, how often to collect data, and when to transmit the data.

1. Call-Respond Mode - (just give me the most recent data now).

2. Streaming Mode - (keep sending real-time data.)

3. Data Logging Mode - (store data in memory until called upon, then download and export to a .csv file)

Data logging mode - record and export weather or any other sensor data you want to gather

State of the Art - Nothing Else Comes Close

Who Are We?

We are Sensorcon. We develop and make Sensors. Sensors are our passion. Sensors are our life. We are not sensor hobbyists, we are sensor fanatics!

We created the Sensordrone because it is what we wanted, a single device that can replace many others. We started out doing sensor R&D for DARPA at MIT, and now we are a small manufacturer producing toxic gas monitors in the heart of the rust belt. By using our own sensor technologies combined with the latest other sensors/chips available, we've created a product that is much smaller and more integrated than anything ever offered in the consumer electronics market.

Uncut/the future of Sensordrone

***Attention*** Unlike the main video, these are just unedited explanations by our team. Sorry, no special effects here, just our random thoughts.

Mark W. - Chief Dreamer (a.k.a. Mr. Feature Creep)

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Ben M. - Super Engineer (a.k.a. The Beard)

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Mark R. - PhD (a.k.a. Overqualified)

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Brian C. - Software Guy (a.k.a. Canadian Exile)

Open Source Software:

Hardware is very expensive to develop. So we're making the Sensordrone's application level software open source so anybody can combine a suite of new sensors with powerful mobile devices to create great new apps. An API & sample code will be made available.

We are currently offering Android compatibility, but if this project is successful, we will port to iOS and Blackberry platforms, and possibly Windows.

One Device...Endless Possibilities

Application
examples:

Air quality

Breath alcohol

Color matching

Non-contact thermometer

Weather monitoring

Crowd sourced Sensor Data

Games (totally new concepts)

Flatulence (use gas sensors for both serious and not so serious measurements)

Totally new applications/Multi-sensor mayhem!

Technical Details:

The Sensordrone has all the sensors your phone doesn't have. It is meant to extend your mobile devices capabilities, not duplicate them (so we didn't include motion or magnetic sensors which are common in phones/tablets)

Included Sensors

Precision Electrochemical Gas Sensor - Calibrated for Carbon Monoxide (Also can be used for precision measurements of Alcohol, Hydrogen, and others)

Expandable!

Anybody can connect any device/hardware project to the Sensordrone via a standard 0.1” pitch header, supports digital (RS-232, I2C) and
analog signals. This makes Sensordrone an "Easy Bluetooth Interface" for your project. First for Android, then for iOS and other platforms. We're making external expansion modules that will connect to the expansion connector. To give you a sneak peak, one expansion module we're working on is a complete air quality monitor for precision measurements of Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) & Ozone (O3).

Sensordrone Interface Pin-Out

Easy Bluetooth Interface for Your Project

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A Sensor Revolution!

The government can tell you that the air quality is good based on data collected at their monitoring stations, but unless you live next to such a station, they can't tell you what the air quality is where you live. The air quality where you are may be very different, especially if you're near a highway, an industrial facility, or even just in a parking garage.

Crowd sourced data from Sensordrone users can dramatically expand the existing pollution/Air quality and weather station network, potentially leading to improved health and better weather forecasting.

Compare the official Air Quality Index network for Carbon Monoxide in New York State (~10) vs. what a Sensordrone network could be (1,000s+).

VS.

This is what happens when you de-centralize data and put it in the hands of the people.

Unbelievably Small Design...

All the sensors are enclosed in a unique, fully custom plastic & metal housing. The Sensordrone is the "swiss army knife" of sensors. It's so small, and light, you can carry it everywhere, on your keychain, or perhaps on a necklace...

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World's 1st Practical Tricorder (with your help)

Monitor everything, everywhere. This is real, this is ready, this is the Sensordrone, by backing us you'll become part of the movement, and help us move into full production and develop many more apps and external expansion modules.

Designed AND Made in the USA

Unlike many others, you won't hear us complaining about how difficult it is to manufacture in the USA, we already do, and we're doing so in the rust-belt.

The Sensordrone was designed by engineers from Buffalo & Toronto. Electronics assembly is being done in Detroit & Rochester, molded parts in Cleveland, and sensor components, final assembly and testing done at Sensorcon in Buffalo.

Why Kickstarter?

Kickstarter is the perfect place to find people to help launch this product - you've seen the Sensordrone in action, but to see it in your hands, we need your help to fund the initial production of this product! If this project is successful, the money will be used for production ramp up. Any extra will go towards improving the platform and creating more & better apps.

This project is participating in the Kicking it Forward program, 5% of the profits from this project will be contributed to other Kickstarter projects. http://kickingitforward.org

Rewards:

Rewards for backers are pre-orders of the Sensordrone at special Kickstarter pricing, Sensordrone T-shirts, stickers, and access to all our updates.

A Couple T-Shirt Design Concepts

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FAQ

Android today (Froyo & later), iOS shortly after initial release this fall (iPhone 4S & later). We've done all our development on Android devices, and are beginning the process of porting over to other platforms. We eventually will support Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows, and Linux operating systems.

The Sensordrone communicates with your mobile device via Bluetooth. Initial Sensordrone's will be shipped with Bluetooth v2.1, but we've also designed it to accommodate Bluetooth 4.0, when more devices switch over to it. Production versions can accommodate both with a firmware upgrade. Beta versions will only support Android with Bluetooth 2.1.

Yes. You can run 1, 2, or all 13 parameters at a time. One of the apps you'll get with the Sensordrone is Sensor Command, which allows you to select and run whichever sensors you're interested in. In later firmware versions, you'll also be able to run multiple Sensordrones with 1 phone.

Uses a rechargeable Lithium-polymer battery, charged via an included micro-standard USB cable. Like your phone, battery life will depend on the App you run, how many sensors are running, which sensors are running, and how often it is transmitting wireless data. This may range from hours to weeks.

Initially, the Application level Software will be open source. This includes the Sensordrone libraries and example code for app developers. In the future we will also be opening up some of the lower level software, and providing more details on the hardware. For now, we are keeping lower level stuff closed until it has a good history in the field.

The Sensordrone serves as a Bluetooth bridge between any hardware device and your Smartphone. Software support makes Bluetooth connection coding unnecessary, you just develop your app on top of the provided Sensordrone library. The External connector directly passes up Analog or Digital data to your phone from the External connector, so as long as you can connect it, you can develop a hardware project that works with Smartphones, without worrying about lower level software or wireless configurations (which is a pain). We will be offering external modules that further expand the Sensordrone's capability. Modules like a breakout board, CO2 monitoring, and many more. We welcome and will support any developers wishing to make hardware that is compatible with the Sensordrone.

Sensordrone is a programmable multi purpose sensor device. Virtually all other devices out there are designed for a single purpose or require extra hardware to do more things. The Sensordrone is portable & much smaller than any existing or proposed internet connected sensor. The Sensordrone gives you all new sensors, and does not duplicate sensors that your phone is already good at (e.g. accelerometer). We include all the sensors at no extra cost to you, you don't have to buy extra sensors or modules. Our hardware is fully custom with the newest & best technologies available. It is much smaller and has higher performance than many other products, particularly in the gas sensor applications. We hope that you all will like the Sensordrone enough to use it and possibly work with us to build never before possible apps. With so many sensors in such a small package, true Tricorder sensor apps like health and food analysis apps are just around the corner...

Pledge $849 or more

Pledge $2,500 or more

1 backer

Superstar Development Partner - You'll get 2 Sensordrones, 2 T-shirts, stickers, early access to all the expansion modules we're building, input into our app & hardware roadmap, and we'll treat you to a night on the town in Buffalo. (Airfare not included)
We'll even let you help test our 'Beer Analyzer App'.

Estimated delivery:Sep 2012

Funding period

Jun 9, 2012 - Jul 21, 2012
(42 days)

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